Francesc "Cesc" Fàbregas i Soler (Catalan pronunciation: [ˈsɛsk ˈfaβɾəɣəs]; born 4 May 1987) is a Spanish footballer.Before the start of the 2010–11 season, there was once again intense media speculation about the Spaniard's future, and in June 2010, a €35 million bid from Barcelona was rejected. The 2010–11 season turned out to be an extremely competitive one in the Premier League; even though Arsenal had lost five games before mid-season, they were jostling for pole position with Manchester United and Manchester City. Going into late February, Arsenal were still in contention for the quadruple, but within a span of two weeks they lost in the League Cup final, were eliminated by Barcelona in the Round of 16 of the Champions League, and defeated in the FA Cup quarter-final. Although Fàbregas did not play in the League Cup Final, it was his misplaced backheel pass during the second leg of the Champions League game against Barcelona that allowed them to level the aggregate score. Arsenal remained in contention for the league title until a series of draws in the final third of the season caused them to fall too far behind league leaders Manchester United; they ended the season fourth. The following season was once again marked by uncertainty.

Andrei Sergeyevich Arshavin (Russian: Андре́й Серге́евич Арша́вин; born 29 May 1981) is a professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for English Premier League club Arsenal FC and is captain of the Russian national team.

On 17 July 2010, Arshavin scored the opening goal against Barnet in Arsenal's first pre-season friendly match of the season, which Arsenal won 4–0. He then won the Man of the Match award for best performance by Arsenal fans according to Arsenal's official website. On 21 August 2010, Arshavin scored his first goal as a penalty for Arsenal in a 6–0 win over Blackpool after Marouane Chamakh was fouled by Ian Evatt in the penalty area. He also scored in Arsenal's very next game on 28 August 2010, scoring the winning goal against Blackburn Rovers for the third time when Cesc Fabregas' shot was blocked and fell into the path of Arshavin, in a game that Arsenal won 2–1. On 15 September 2010, Arshavin scored and provided two assists against Braga in Arsenal's first Champions League group stage match, with Arsenal winning 6–0. On 18 September 2010, Arshavin scored his first Carling Cup goal, which was also Arsenal's 4th goal during extra time to defeat Tottenham Hotspur in the 3rd round of the Carling Cup, with Arsenal winning against their arch rivals 4–1. He later then scored Arsenal's first goal in a 3–1 midweek Champions League away win against FK Partizan in the 15th minute after a backheel pass by Jack Wilshere. But Vladimir Stojković saved Arshavin's penalty in the second half after Marouane Chamakh was fouled in the penalty area. On 27 November 2010, Arshavin scored his first goal since September, which was the opening goal against Aston Villa in a 4–2 away win. On 29 December 2010, Arshavin scored a scissor kick volley to bring Arsenal level when they were 1–0 down to Wigan. He later made an assist for Nicklas Bendtner to put Arsenal 2–1 up, but after a Sebastien Squillaci own goal, the match ended 2–2. He then won the Man of the Match award for best performance by Arsenal fans for the second time. On 1 February 2011, Arshavin came off the bench in the 62nd minute and scored his first 2011 goal and first goal since December just 8 minutes later to make Arsenal level when they were 1–0 down to Everton in a game that Arsenal won 2–1. He then won the Man of the Match award for best performance by Arsenal fans for the third time. On 16 February 2011, Arshavin scored as Arsenal beat Barcelona for the first time in their history in a 2–1 win in the Champions League round of 16. This was Arshavin's first Champions League goal for Arsenal that is not from the group stage. The very next day, Johan Djourou stated that "Arshavin showed he is a great player", because of his winning goal and his rising performance from his recent dip in form. On 20 February 2011, Arsenal faced Leyton Orient for The FA Cup fifth-round, a 1–1 draw in which Arshavin won the Man of the Match award for best performance by Arsenal fans for the fourth time, even though he did not score, though he did come close numerous times. Arshavin's next Premier League goal was away to West Bromwich Albion, bringing the score to 2–1 after WBA had earlier taken a 2–0 lead. He also provided the cross for Robin Van Persie's late equaliser in that game.

Robin van Persie (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈrɔbɪn vɐn ˈpɛrsi] born 6 August 1983) is a Dutch footballer who plays as a striker for Arsenal and the Dutch national team. He is a youth product of Feyenoord. Having joined Arsenal in 2004, Van Persie became the club captain on 16 August 2011. His playing style and ability have drawn comparison to Dutch legend Marco van Basten.

Before the start of the 2010–11 season, Van Persie changed his squad number to 10, previously worn by Arsenal and Netherlands legend Dennis Bergkamp. He made his 200th appearance on 28 August but an ankle injury suffered in the same game placed him on the sidelines once again. He returned as a substitute for Arsenal's 0–1 defeat to Newcastle United on 7 November.

On 1 January 2011, Van Persie scored his first goal of the season in a 3–0 away win over Birmingham City. On 15 January, he added two more goals to his tally in a comfortable 3–0 win over West Ham. This made him only the fourth Dutchman to reach 50 goals in England's top division. Van Persie scored his first career hat-trick in a 3–0 win over Wigan Athletic on 22 January and two goals against Newcastle United in a 4–4 draw on 5 February. Continuing his fine form, he hit a brace the following week against Wolverhampton Wanderers scoring both Arsenal goals in a 2–0 win including a volley from inside the box. The ten goals he scored between 1 January and 12 February set a new Premier League record for most goals scored in the first two months of a calendar year.

Van Persie set the Emirates alight with a goal from an almost impossible angle in Arsenal's fightback against Barcelona in the Champions League Round of 16 which ended 2–1 in favour of the Gunners. On 27 February 2011, Van Persie captained Arsenal at Wembley Stadium in the League Cup final, scoring the first half equalizer for the Gunners. It was his first goal at Wembley and his first in a cup final for Arsenal. However, he was later taken off in the second half with a knee injury he picked up while scoring the goal.

On 1 March 2011 he was ruled out for 3 weeks which would see him miss the Champions League return leg with Barcelona. However, he recovered in time for the return leg at Camp Nou. During the game, he received a yellow card in the first half for a foul. In the second half, he was sent off after he received a second yellow card when the referee, Massimo Busacca, deemed him to be time-wasting by taking a shot at goal after the whistle was blown (one second earlier) for offside. Barcelona went on to score twice more and advanced to the quarter finals on a 4–3 aggregate result. Afterwards, Van Persie described the Busacca's decision as a "total joke", claiming that with the noise of the 95,000-strong crowd he could not hear the whistle. On 19 March 2011, he scored the equalizing goal in a 2–2 against West Bromich Albion at The Hawthorns. The match finished 2–2 with Arsenal still five points behind the current leaders, Manchester United.

On 10 April 2011 in a match against Blackpool, Van Persie put in a man of the match performance to give Arsenal a crucial 3–1 win as Van Persie set up a goal and scored the 3rd. On 24 April 2011, Van Persie became the first player to score in seven successive Premier League away games when he scored against Bolton, beating Didier Drogba's record who was on six successive away games, between August and November 2009. However, the Gunners lost 2–1, all but ending their title hopes. On 1 May he assisted Aaron Ramsey who scored the winning goal against league leaders Manchester United to add a twist to the Premier League. Van Persie was named EA Sports Player of the Month for April.

On 8 May 2011, Arsenal lost 3–1 against Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium, Van Persie scored the goal for Arsenal and with that goal Van Persie extended his Premier League record by scoring in an eighth successive away match. On the last home game for the season Van Persie scored against Aston Villa, but Arsenal lost the match 2–1. On the last game of the season away to Fulham, Van Persie managed to score in his ninth consecutive away match, bringing his goal tally for the season to a personal record of 18 league goals. He also equalled the record held by Cristiano Ronaldo and Thierry Henry by scoring 18 league goals from the turn of the year to the end of the season. He ended the season just two goals behind joint league top scorers, Carlos Tévez and Dimitar Berbatov in the race for the golden boot. He was voted as the second best player of the 2010–11 season on Arsenal's official website and also received the team's Goal of the Season award for his audacious strike in the 2–1 victory over Barcelona in the Champions League.